Michelle Perry, The old ways fade, Information World Review, April 7, 2008. This opinion piece doesn't mention OA. But how far do its insights carry over? Excerpt:
Online is a land of opportunity for publishers, but only if they are prepared to embrace change....
Not since the invention of the printing press has the publishing industry been in such upheaval. Traditional revenue sources and audiences are slipping away, conventional business models are being turned on their head, and the way information is consumed is radically different from even a decade ago.
If established publishers want to stay in the game then they have to shake off preconceived ideas about information provision. If they don’t, they risk being usurped by the young contenders, who, incidentally, are entering the field rapidly and adeptly....
Unlike the new entrants to the marketplace, the biggest publishers have the advantage of well-known and well-trusted brands. But unless they refresh their titles and provide the content that users want, those brands will quickly lose their appeal.
David Cushman, a digital development director at Emap, says: “There are two key disruptions that the internet has brought to publishing. The control of the process in creating content is no longer our monopoly. And the notion of having a centralised website that you can expect people to use is outmoded, as people can now share information.” ...
[O]pportunities abound for those who are prepared to acknowledge that the world has changed....
The internet has closed the gap between people and media providers. Web users don’t show allegiance to a site unless it consistently provides the information they want....
Posted by
Peter Suber at 4/10/2008 10:26:00 AM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
